Where is Daisy Going?? BIG SMILES!!!

In case you haven’t noticed (hee hee) I’m a LIL bit EXCITED (omgosh *cough*SO SO SO EXCITED*cough*) about my trip to Western Australia next week.  YAY!!!!  So I decided to do a little research about where I’m going.  AND because it’s SO EXCITING I’m going to share it with you.  :)  TODAY we’ll talk about my first stop – Perth.  (btw all pics are under creative commons licenses)  *BIG SMILES*!!

Perth

First off – here’s a map of Australia so you know where I’m going.  Basically I’m flying from one side of the continent to the other (wahoo!)  I added little hearts to make it easier to see.  :)

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I have to be honest – I really struggled to find pics of Perth to show!!  BUT THAT’S OK!!!  Because it just means I’ll have a challenge ahead of me – to take cool Perth photos.  YAY!  But here is the classic Perth shot just to give you an idea of the city I’m about to visit.

Earth Hour in Perth, Australia

With a population of about 1.6 million, it’s bigger than the actual CITY of Salt Lake where I’m from – but smaller than the 2.6 million living in the Wasatch Front (which is what most people think of when they refer to Salt Lake City.)

Aerial view of Perth:

Perth

COOL FACT:

Perth is set on Swan River – named after the famous black swans which are native to Australia.   And here are two pictures that I took of black swans myself (wahoo!) omgosh – they are the coolest thing.  BREATHTAKING!!!

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Did you know there are SEVENTY train stations in Perth??  That’s a lot!!!

x - swans 2

Anyway – while we are there, we will be focusing on the historical districts (did you know Perth was founded in 1829 by Captain Stirling?) So that will be pretty freaking cool.  Oh and lil fact for mom and dad – there’s like a whole 5,000 momos living there.  :)

perth town hall

And this little “gem” (does anyone else think the back lit clock is a little weird??) is Perth’s Town Hall – it was originally built in 1867 but I’m guessing the back lit clock part was added later (roll my eyes.)  Most of the parks were created/established around that same time.  You can take virtual tours of the parks HERE but I’m not going to fool you – it’s a little disappointing.  I hope the parks are cooler in person because the virtual tours leave much to the wanting.  (cough – LAME – they need me to redesign their virtual tours!!)

Ok really that’s about all there is to be said about Perth I think … but tomorrow I’ll post about Geraldton – our second stop on our adventure!!!

Song of the day – Hysteric by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  (mom you should like this one) :)

Headed back to Bondi – and THANK YOU to FM’s GF :)

It’s only 8:15pm Sydney time and I am EXHAUSTED!!! I’ll be asleep no more than 5 minutes after hitting “publish” on this post. Tomorrow morning a cab is picking up FM and me at 1:30am Sydney time – AGH!!!   That’s SO EARLY!!!  We’re headed back to Bondi tomorrow.

So first off I want to give a public shout out to FM’s GF.

THANK YOU!!!

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What a fantastic week I’ve had!!!  She was so kind to let me stay with her while I was here in New Zealand!  Not to mention it wouldn’t have been as much fun without her!!!  :) :) I miss having her around back home – and can’t wait til she gets back!!  Love you!!  And I appreciate your hospitality!  xoxo

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Oh and p.s. – I’ll have a batch of flourless peanut butter cookies waiting for you when you get back.  :) YUM!!!

Ok – so even though I’ve had an amazing week  and can happily cross off “Visit New Zealand” from my 101 list – it will be good to get back to life.  School, homework, and warm weather are all calling my name!  But for now – please enjoy pics from my Wellington CBD (Central Business District) City tour.  In the next week I’ll try and post pics from scenic New Zealand.  I found a little bit of heaven while I was here – I can’t wait to share it with you all!!!

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and another p.s. – Captain Charisma wants to meet up again.  Of course he does.  Hmm.  Apparently he’s back in town.  Ordinarily (last semester) I wouldn’t have thought twice about it – I’d just say, “When and where?”  He’s hot, smart, with second, third and fourth doses of SUPER hot … not to mention FM and his GF haven’t forbidden it … BUT …  well … I don’t have time to analyze this now but I’ve found myself in a bit of a quandary.  Hmm … what to do – what to do … ??

New Zealand – Where have you been all of my life?

I think there is a good chance I moved to the wrong country. AAANNND I think there is a good chance I may look into transferring to New Zealand next semester to finish off my degree.  If they’ll do a direct transfer of credit – I think I will be doing a direct transfer to Wellington.  :)

Why New Zealand seems a better fit for me:

  • They have Hip Hop
  • They have AMAZING hip hop.
  • Their music can’t be found or purchased anywhere but within the country – did I mention they have amazing hip hop?
  • They have DELICIOUS gluten-free bread.
  • Their gluten-free bread is so yummy it can be eaten PLAIN.
  • They have GOOD microwaved popcorn.
  • The men around here are smoking hot.  – Seriously – they really are.
  • The fashion rocks.
  • The city is about the size of Salt Lake – perfect.
  • And last but NOT LEAST – they sell t-shirts that I like.  You’ll see pics of those soon.

Here are some pics from Tourist Day One!

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Oh and they’re home to a Giant Colossal Squid …

Cruise Pics

Today the Maitre D from the cruise requested to be my friend on Facebook.  Oh yes.  That’s right.  ) Here’s a pic of the Maitre D et moi.  He was so cool and I had so much fun making friends with him and everyone else on the cruise ship!!  Seriously – I had so much fun.  It was a BLAST!!!  ) And it’s always to good to know that YAY! I’m not forgettable!  ;)

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And here are a whole ton of pics from the first few days of the cruise.  I’ll post the second half soon.  ) I have an essay to write tonight – so this is all I’m posting.  I hope I don’t go crazy!  Essay writing is kind of a BIG SUCKS!  But the GOOD NEWS is I made gluten-free brownies and they were to die for – YAY!  ) – my flatmates are addicted to my gluten-free goodness!  lol.  Have a happy Sunday!   Mine was fantastic!

Oh and you should check out the song “1, 2, 3, 4″ by Plain White T’s.  I’m in LOVE with this song.  It’s definitely the kind to put on repeat!!!